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freethinkers

(Encyclopedia)freethinkers, those who arrive at conclusions, particularly in questions of religion, by employing the rules of reason while rejecting supernatural authority or ecclesiastical tradition. The freethink...

Mach, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Mach, Ernst ĕrnst mäkh [key], 1838–1916, Austrian physicist and philosopher, b. Moravia. He taught (1864–67) mathematics at Graz and later, until his retirement in 1901, was professor of physics...

Ritsos, Yannis

(Encyclopedia)Ritsos, Yannis, 1909–90, Greek poet. One of modern Greece's most widely translated poets, Ritsos moved from an early concern with classical themes and style to a more deeply personal lyricism. His w...

Tychyna, Pavlo

(Encyclopedia)Tychyna, Pavlo, 1891–1967, Ukrainian poet. Tychyna's first volume of verse (Solar Clarinets, 1919) revealed a strong symbolist influence. His later poetry, including The Party is our Guide (1934) an...

Bernardes, Diogo

(Encyclopedia)Bernardes, Diogo dyōˈgō bərnärˈdĭsh [key], c.1530–c.1600, Portuguese poet. A follower of Sá de Miranda, he wrote melodious pastoral verse, and was one of the chief poets of the Portuguese Re...

Tabb, John Banister

(Encyclopedia)Tabb, John Banister, 1845–1909, American poet, b. Amelia co., Va. He was converted to Roman Catholicism in 1872 and entered the priesthood in 1884. His poems on nature and religion are simple and po...

Lowell, Amy

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, Amy, 1874–1925, American poet, biographer, and critic, b. Brookline, Mass., privately educated; sister of Percival Lowell and Abbott Lawrence Lowell. In 1912 she published A Dome of Many-Col...

Eliot, T. S.

(Encyclopedia)Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns Eliot), 1888–1965, American-British poet and critic, b. St. Louis, Mo. One of the most distinguished literary figures of the 20th cent., T. S. Eliot won the 1948 Nobel P...

Endymion

(Encyclopedia)Endymion ĕndĭmˈēən [key], in Greek mythology, young shepherd, loved by Selene (the moon). In one version of his legend, he asked Zeus for immortality and perpetual youth. Zeus consented on the co...

Bijns, Anna

(Encyclopedia)Bijns, Anna äˈnä bīns [key], 1494?–1575?, Flemish poet of Antwerp. Her three volumes (1528, 1548, 1567) of lyric verse place her among the foremost Dutch poets of her age. She excelled in robust...